Drinking fountain



March 25 1924.

C. B. MORTIMER DRINKING FOUNTAIN Filed April 1. 1921 2 Sheets-Shegt 1 J N VENTO Patented Mar. 25 1924.

CHARLES E.

MORTIMER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CENTRAL BRASS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

Application filed April 1,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. MORTIMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Drinking F ountains, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is directed to an improvement in drinking fountains of various types, for example such as shown in a patent to D. H. Bowlzer, No. 1,366,055, granted Jan uary 18, 1921.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel means for controlling a jet protector, which may be operated by gravity and hydraulic pressure. More specifically, this invention provides a hydraulically operated piston, cooperating with an orifice hood, which is adapted to operate when drinking water is released by the usual manually operated valve.

Other objects include simplicity, positive operativeness, etc., as will become apparent in the following description, referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my device. The essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a drinking fountain embodying my invention, with a portion of the fountain bowl broken away to show the position of the jet with reference tothe center of the bowl; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the drinking fountain illustrating the jet orificeand protecting hood; Fig. 3 is a similar section showing a part of the bowl and therposition of the hood raising mechanism when the valve is open; Fig. at is a plan view showing the general contour of the jet hood or protecting member, while Fig. 5 is a transverse view substantially along the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the various parts of my invention by the use of numerals, 1 indicates a suitable fountain bowl having a downwardly projecting boss 2, into which is fitted a drain sleeve 3, having a perforated end 4, which serves to protect the waste outlet from the bowl in the customary manner.

The lower portion of the sleeve 3 is thread 1921. Serial No. 457,732.

ed to receivenut 5, which clamps the sleeve in position. This nut when tightened draws the sleeve securely upon the washers 6 and disposed upon the upper and under surfaces respectively of the projecting boss 2. internal threads on the sleeve receive a suitable drain pipe 10, leading the waste water away from the bowl. At one side of the bowl is formed a horizontal boss 11, extend 111g upwardlyand downwardly from its inner and outer surfaces. This boss has an opening extending therethrough in which the jet mechanism and the cooperating members are adaptedto be supported.

It has been the practice, heretofore, to provide the jet orifice with a covering or hood, which is adapted to protect the exposed surfaces thereof when the fountain is not in use. Also, by having the jet offset from the center of the bowl a further advantage is obtained in that the stream is projected across the center of the bowl so that the user of the fountain will not at any time cause drippings or splashings from the face to fall upon the surface of the jet. This result was obtained by having the normally closed protecting hood operated in such a manner that when the valve was operated to turn on the water, this hood Was raised by a series of connecting levers between the valve and hood. I have found that this result may be obtained in a more satisfactory and economical manner, by providing the jet 1nember 12 with a hinged hood 13, adapted to be raised by a hydraulically operated piston member 14 suitably housed within the jet member 12.

This jet member may be positioned within the opening'extending through a boss 11 by a removable and adjustable nut 15, mounted on the orifice end of the jet member 12. This nut serves to clamp the hood support 16 upon the upper surface of the boss 11, and by placing a washer 17 upon the under surface of this boss, a suitable shoulder 18 formed on the jet member 12 may properly seat thereon to form a watertight joint when the nut member 15 is tightened upon the hood support member 16.

I have found that the hood member 13, when properly proportioned, may be raised by the hydraulic piston member 14 and be maintained in an open position thereby, as

shown in Fig. 3, during the period that water is passing through th jet member. To insure the satisfactory operation of this piston, however, I have provided a restricting disk 19 rigidly secured to the lower end of the piston, which is adapted to slide over the valve needle 20. This needle is comprised substantially of a needle portion having a shoulder 21 adapted to be seated in the lower end of the jet member 12 by a suitable clamping nut 22. I prefer to have the flanged portion 23 of this member flattened on two sides as shown at 20 in Fig. 5,

, whereby the fluid may pass along these fiattened sides and act upon the under surface 24 of the restricting member 19. Thus it is to be seen that while the passage of the water through the hollow piston is not entirely obstructed, suflicient resistance is presented so that the fluid raises the piston upwardly with considerable force and speed, while the restricting member 19 is moving along the needle 20. Hence, suflicient force is exerted upon the piston during the fore part of its movement to overcome the inertia of the movable parts and to insure the raising of the hood 18 before any of the liquid has passed through the orifice 25 of the jet member 12.

As it is essential that the stream projected from the jet shall have the highest point of its arc approximately over the center of the bowl, it is necessary that the orifice be set at a slight angle to the center line of the jet member, and I have found it quite desirable to also have the opening 26 in the hollow piston 14: set at the same angle, in order that this opening will form an approximate continuation of the orifice 25 when the piston is in the extreme upward position, as shown at 27 in Fig. 3.

Secured to the upper end of the piston member 14, I have provided an elevating pin'32, which is adapted to move vertically in a suitable off set opening 33 in the jet end of the jet member 12. The end of this elevating pin is adapted to act upon the under surface of the hood member 13 and turn it about a suitable pivot to an extreme upward position. This ofl set pin also serves to prevent the piston from rotating and to maintain the orifice 26 in proper relation to the orifice 25.

The valve restricting mechanism secured to the lower end of the jet member 12 may be protected by having a branch 28 of any suitable valve 29 secured to threaded portion 30 of the jet member.

It is important that the weight of the hood member 13 be distributed with reference to its pivot 31, in such a manner that when the stream is shut ofl by the valve 29, the hood will close by gravity and I accordingly have arranged the general shape of this hood to entirely cover the upper surresen /s faces of the jet member, and at the same time to have this shape of such contour that the elevating pin'32 may have a camming action upon the under surface of the hood. I also have provided a projecting lug 34 integral with the hood support 16, which is adapted to serve as a stop for a similar lug 35 integral with the hood 13.

From the foregoing description of my device, it is apparent that I have provided a novel means for protecting the upper surfaces of the jet member of a drinking fountain, in such a manner that the mechanism is effectively protected from dust, dirt and unsanitary drippings from the mouth of the user of the fountain. Furthermore, it is obvious that the operation of this mechanism is entirely independent of any mechanical operation of the fountain valve, the external moving members .being confined to a hood member and an elevating pin adapted to raise this member, which, however, is covered by the hood during the inoperative period. The mechanism may be constructed of a minimum number of parts all of which can be economically produced. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim V j 1. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a stationary jet orifice member adapted to project a fluid stream upwardly,

a hood normally positioned over the orifice of said jet member, a passage leading to the jet, and hydraulically operated means for raising said hood, within said passage.

2. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a stationary'jet orifice member, a hood shield covering said'orifice member, a

passage leading to the stationary jet orifice,

a hydraulically operated piston valve in said passage, a shut-off valve disposed within the passage beneath the piston valve and means cobpcrating with the piston valve for raising said hood member when said shut-off valve is open.

8. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a stationary member having a discharge orifice, a hood shield therefor, a water passage leading thereto, a hydraulically operated piston valve and a shut-off valve disposed in said passage,and means including a movable member rigid with the piston valve for raising said hood, whereby said hood will be raised by the movement of said piston valve when the shut-off valve is open.

4. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a stationary jet orifice member adapted to project a fluid'stream, a pivoted hood positioned over the orifice of said jet member and a fluid passage in the jet member, hydraulically operated means for raising-saidhood, including a hollow movable piston, and stationary means cooperating with the piston adapted to concentrate fluid pressure upon the inner end of said piston during a part of the movement thereof.

5. In a drinking fountain, the combination of an angular jet discharge orifice, a movable shield member therefor, a fresh 5 water passage leading thereto, and valve mechanism disposed in said-passage comprising a piston adapted to move said shield and a needle member adapted to restrict the Water flow through said passage during a predetermined movement of said piston.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

CHARLES B. MORTIMER. 

